Kashimo Liao Ram At The Fights interview on training without a coach

In the Kashimo Liao Ram At The Fights interview for MILLIONS, Liao said he was preparing for ECF Breaking Point in New Jersey without a coach or regular gym. He told Ram At The Fights that he arranges his own fights, prefers stand-up fighting to grappling for MMA, and relies on heavy lifting as part of his routine. With the event a week away, he said he was about 20 pounds over his fight weight.

How was Kashimo Liao preparing for ECF Breaking Point?

Kashimo Liao said he follows a routine rather than a conventional fight camp. A week before ECF Breaking Point, he was about 20 pounds over his fight weight, but described the cut as manageable. He also chose not to study his opponent’s footage, arguing that amateur fighters can change too quickly for old clips to be useful.

A routine built around lifting and technical sparring

Liao said he lifts four times a week and normally lifts before his fight training. Weight training came first in his life, he explained, so he treats it as his base and builds fighting on top of it. He spars once a week, sometimes twice, and tries to keep those sessions technical and playful rather than turning every exchange into a hard contest.

He expected a noticeable size and speed difference against his opponent. According to Liao, the opponent had historically fought at 145 pounds and probably walked around at 155, while Liao put his own usual walking weight at about 190 pounds. He thought the other fighter would be much faster and said that contrast would be interesting.

Why Liao skips opponent footage

When asked whether he had watched his opponent fight, Liao said he does not study opponents. For him, doing so takes away some of the fun. He also reasoned that an amateur can improve substantially between recorded fights, leaving footage that no longer reflects the person who arrives on fight night.

Why does Kashimo Liao favor stand-up fighting over MMA grappling?

Kashimo Liao said he wants to focus on stand-up fighting rather than take up grappling for MMA. In his mid-20s, he did not want to begin that part of the sport. The conversation then turned from his fighting preference to a name he chose himself and the anime he enjoys watching.

Choosing the name Kashimo

Liao said he assigned himself the nickname Kashimo. He recognized that choosing a nickname as an amateur might seem pompous: in his view, some fighters wait until they turn professional or develop a recognizable style before a name is given to them. His explanation was simpler. He picked his for fun.

When the discussion moved to anime, Liao said he was a fan of Baki and also watched Kengan Ashura. He noted that both were on Netflix, while Kengan Ashura was less popular. He also observed that plenty of fighters watch anime, making the subject a familiar one around the sport rather than something separate from it.

How did Kashimo Liao start fighting without a coach or gym?

Kashimo Liao said he began training about two years before the interview and did not take fighting seriously until his senior year of university, when he was about 21. After returning to Long Island, he signed up for a gym. He now says he has no coach or regular gym and arranges his fights himself.

Starting after university in Long Island

Liao described his start as late. He grew up in New York and said his parents are from China. Once he returned to Long Island and began training, he took responsibility for finding fights rather than relying on a coach or gym to book them.

Liao put his independent approach plainly:

I don't have a coach I don't have a gym that I train out of all the fights that I get I get by myself

His wife as a possible cornerman

Independence also raised a practical question about who would work his corner. Liao said he had asked his wife whether she would do it if he could not find anyone else, and she agreed. He presented it as a fallback, not as a claim that she had already cornered one of his fights.

How does Kashimo Liao use weightlifting for fighting?

Kashimo Liao uses heavy, low-repetition lifts because he wants strength without adding so much muscle that he feels slow. He said he had lifted weights before becoming a fighter and has never competed as a powerlifter. Squats, bench presses and deadlifts are part of his training, alongside the time he reserves for fighting.

Heavy lifts with few repetitions

Liao distinguished his approach from bodybuilding, which he characterized as using more repetitions with less weight. He considers powerlifting-style work more helpful for his purposes: heavier weights for fewer repetitions. He said the arrangement works decently well for him, while making clear that his aim is to be strong without being slow.

He did not present lifting as the only valid method for fighters. Liao pointed to different coaching philosophies, including his account that Mike Tyson’s trainers did not use weights because they believed weights made a fighter slow. He contrasted that with fighters and coaches who do incorporate lifting, treating its usefulness as a matter of what works for the individual.

What did Kashimo Liao expect on fight week at ECF Breaking Point?

Kashimo Liao expected his speed to surprise people at ECF Breaking Point, despite the size difference he anticipated against his opponent. He said his fight-week routine was largely about making weight: he stops lifting and concentrates on light shadowboxing while cutting. He also said he had no history of opponents confronting him disrespectfully in person.

Speed, experience and the weight cut

Liao said he had heard his opponent had more than 50 unofficial fights, but he was not treating that reported experience as a reason to back down. His claim was that viewers would be surprised by how quickly someone his size could move. He left the comparison to be settled in the fight.

During fight week, Liao said he does not lift weights. He focuses on light shadowboxing and the cut, describing a loss of around 20 pounds in three days as tough but familiar to him. That account sits alongside his earlier assessment that he still had about 20 pounds to lose with a week remaining.

Opponent talk and Instagram

Liao said he liked the opponent’s talk on Instagram, including a post about not having trained for the fight. Asked whether anyone had confronted him at a faceoff, he said people had been respectful so far. He gave his own Instagram account as Kashimo Liao and said it was his only social media account.

Who is Kashimo Liao?

XiKai “Kashimo” Liao is an MMA athlete listed with three wins and two losses.